10 Wrestlers Who Were Alone In The Ring During A Royal Rumble

There is an old saying and song that states one might be the loneliest number. But during the Royal Rumble, one can mean one of three things - you can be the unfortunate first man in the ring. Or you could be the last one standing. Or win or lose, you might be the only one in the ring.

Several times over the history of The Royal Rumble, competitors have been either ruthless enough, cunning enough, or downright fortunate enough to be left alone in the ring for several moments at a time. It’s enough to catch a quick breather before the next number enters, which is usually the calm before the storm and it’s usually a competitor's mortal enemy coming down to the ring.

10 Brock Lesnar - 2020

On the road to the 2020 Rumble match, Brock had declared that he would enter into the match at number one. The Beast Incarnate would spend a lot of time in the ring on his own - he eliminated the first five combatants before the next could enter the ring. He would also find himself alone in the ring several times over before finally getting eliminated by a Claymore Kick to the mush.

9 Drew Carey - 2001

Of all of the people to find themselves in a Royal Rumble, much less alone in a Royal Rumble match, no fan would ever have guessed comedian Drew Carey would be on this list.

But after annoying Vince McMahon while trying to promote his own upcoming PPV, McMahon put him in The Royal Rumble. Carey didn’t stay alone or in the match for long, but it was long enough for The Hardys to eliminate themselves while he stood in the ring dumbfounded until Kane entered the fray.

8 Kane - 2001

Comedian Drew Carey seemed completely out of place (rightfully so) when the Hardys eliminated themselves. But the next entrant was The Big Red Machine. After Carey eliminated himself, Raven, Al Snow, and several others tried to lay waste to Kane but found themselves ousted by the monster on his way to tossing out a then-record eleven men. But at some point during the Rumble, Kane stood tall all by himself in the ring, waiting and alone just long enough for the next combatant, the Honky Tonk Man, and afternoon dumping him, he had ten more seconds of loneliness before being joined by The Rock

7 Stone Cold Steve Austin - 2002

The Texas Rattlesnake has already won three Royal Rumbles when he stomped to the ring for the 2002 match looking for a fourth. He made quick work of the three men in the ring - Saturn, Chuck Palumbo, and Christian. Then Austin mimed checking his watch to a thunderous ovation of “What” chants, then with some time to kill head headed to the outside and continued to obliterate the three competitors.

6 Roman Reigns - 2016

The 2016 event was the only one to date where the WWE Championship was defended in the actual Royal Rumble match. The defending champion, Roman Reigns was number one in the match and before the two minutes were up, he heaved Rusev over the top.

With a few seconds to spare, the champion stood tall and caught his breath waiting for the next competitor - surprise entrant AJ Styles.

5 Rikishi - 2000

In the heart of New York City, 2000 Royal Rumble turned into a dance party when all three members of Too Cool were alone in the ring. After ‘Kish tossed out his buddies, he was able to rule the roost for a few moments. He was able to toss out both Steve Blackman and big Viscera, leaving himself alone both times before The Big Boss Man joined the match, ending Rikishi’s loneliness.

4 Diesel - 1994

On the road to dominating most of 1995 as WWE Champion, Diesel first showed some dominance during the 1994 Royal Rumble. He would enter and immediately eliminate Owen Hart to thunderous applause (he turned heel on Bret earlier in the evening). He then spent the next few numbers (Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, and Virgil) heaving them out almost as fast as they came in, each time getting a near full minute breather until The Macho Man entered the match and stayed in the match for a decent amount of time.

3 CM Punk - 2010

The 2010 Royal Rumble took place during the timeline of CM Punk leading his Straight Edge Society. He entered at number three and made quick work of numbers one and two - Dolph Ziggler and Evan Bourne.

Punk would then deliver several sermons before competitors came to “greet” him. JTG was first, and while Punk was preaching, Great Khali and later Beth Phoenix would join him. But after the Glamazon eliminated the giant, Punk made short work of Zack Ryder. But with Triple H being the next number, Punk’s time with a microphone and alone in the ring had ended.

2 Stone Cold Steve Austin - 1997

The Texas Rattlesnake rode into the Alamodome a villain, but the crowd had already started turning their affections towards Austin. He came to the ring early at number five and spent several moments by himself at various points in the match. First, by eliminating Phineas Godwinn, he had a reprieve before Bart Gunn came to the ring.

Austin would pick him off before the next competitor arrived. He also mimed checking his watch, which has become an iconic image of the Bionic Redneck. While Austin wasn’t able to eliminate Jake Roberts in under two minutes, he would eventually toss him and minutes later find himself alone just in time to catch his breath before his mortal enemy Bret Hart made his appearance.

1 Ric Flair - 1992

Reason number 356 why the 1992 Royal Rumble is the greatest of all time - Ric Flair just cleared the ring by eliminating The Big Boss Man, who came in like a house of fire a few minutes prior. Bobby Heenan on commentary elated and ecstatic, acting as if The Nature Boy had won the entire Rumble. Flair would then hit the classic Flair Flop. As the countdown hit zero, a new competitor entered the fray, the brand new Intercontinental champion and Flair’s rival, Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Next: First 10 Royal Rumble Winners, Ranked From Worst To Best